Constance Satterlee was born in Wappinger Falls, N.Y. to Jane Lawrence and Henry Yates Satterlee (1843-1908), who became the first Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C. in 1896. Constance was the younger sibling of Churchill Satterlee, an Episcopal pastor in North Carolina. Churchill married Helen S. Folsom in 1898; they had three children, the last born shortly after the unexpected death of Churchill Satterlee in 1904. In April of 1910 Constance married Frederic W. Rhinelander (1860-1942), brother to the Bishop of Pennsylvania, Philip Mercer Rhinelander, personal friend of the Satterlee family.

Summary:

This collection of papers comprises correspondence chiefly from Constance Satterlee Rhinelander's mother, Jane Lawrence Satterlee, and from Philip Mericer Rhinelander, Constance's childhood friend and later brother-in-law. Letters from Jane Lawrence Satterlee date from 1910 and concern Constance's marriage to Frederic W. Rhinelander. Jane's correspondence to her daughter discuss the couple's European honeymoon. Correspondence from Philip Mercer Rhinelander chiefly concerns his friendship with Constance and provides some updates of the Episcopal Church as well as inquiries about the Satterlee family, (in the letters from 1898 to 1921). There is correspondence from Constance's brother, Churchill Satterlee, with some discussion of their father, Henry Yates Satterlee. Churchill's sister-in-law, Etheldred Folsom, writes about the birth of Churchill's first son, Henry Yates Satterlee, in 1900. There is one letter from Jean L. MacKenzie, who is probably the adopted daughter of Constance and Frederic. Upon their wedding, Grinnell Irving sends correspondence to Frederic and Constance, who are staying on his estate after their wedding, prior to leaving for Europe. Sparse correspondence from the 1940s includes letters from Henry Dwight Chapin, regarding the British-American Adoption Fund, and from Caleb Milne, regarding his position in the Mid Eastern Forces during World War II. The papers also include some memorabilia: "A Lenten Pastoral" to the bishop's daughter; Constance's wedding invitation and a poem written by Jane Lawrence Satterlee; clippings (see also oversize Folder 17 in manuscript drawer) regarding Constance's engagement and wedding to Frederic W. Rhinelander; and some calling cards.

Local notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Julia B. Leisenring Book Fund.